Idle Moments

Idle Moments – October/November 2021

September 28, 2021
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I’m so glad I live in a World where there are Octobers

(from Anne of Green Gables by L M Montgomery)

Ooh! I came over all literary; make the most of it – it doesn’t happen often. So where are you settling down

to solve this month’s little conundrums? In front of your computer with a cup of tea or in the local pub with a pint and your trusty tablet? Not that it matters; what is important is that the numbers puzzles are lurking, waiting to trip you up:

  1. 10 SC in an A
  2. 6 F in a H
  3. 1927 FSTF (by CL)
  4. 2 M for J
  5. 2620 PC of QMT
  6. 787 MN of the BD
  7. 3 K of OA
  8. 0 L on the NB
  9. 20 P for FF in C
  10. 46 C in the C of L

And so on we go. As I was compiling this edition’s 5BY4, I was anticipating a trip to the Royal Albert Hall for my last Promenade concert of the season (nice to be back there again!) and I came over all ‘eyebrow’. So, for you fans of music (of a certain genre – sorry, no Slowhand), here are ten notable musicians (mostly still alive) and ten instruments for you to match up. Some you may find easy then just juggle the rest:

  1. Emmanuel Pahoud A. (French) Horn
  2. John Williams B. Flute
  3. Nicholas Daniel C. Violin
  4. Anna Lapwood D. Piano
  5. Julian Bream E. Percussion
  6. Nicola Benedetti F. Oboe
  7. Barry Tuckwell G. ‘Cello
  8. Sheku Kanneh-Mason H. Guitar
  9. Alfred Brendel I. Organ
  10. Evelyn Glennie J. Lute

For this time’s Trivial Knowledge, like last time and in the absence of any startling bolts of inspiration, I have gone back to my book of dates and chosen events that happened in October and November of years ending in one:

  1. Who was the British grocer, philanthropist and racing yacht owner who died in London on 2 October 1931?
  2. The first escalators in Great Britain entered service on 4 October 1911. At what London Underground station were they installed?
  3. On 6 October 1981, the President of a middle east state was assassinated during a military parade. Who was he, which country did he run and where did he die?
  4. The first charity street collection in Britain took place in Manchester and Salford on 8 October 1891; in support of which organisation?
  5. Which polar explorer was born near Oslo on 10 October 1861?
  6. Author David John Cornwell was born on 19 October 1931. Under what name did he write?
  7. On 20 October 1941, Britain’s largest ever and last battleship was laid down. What was its name and where was it built?
  8. What famous meeting took place on 10 November at Ujiji, then in Tanganyika?
  9. What long running BBC television competition was first broadcast on 12 November 1951? It still continues today, although under a somewhat different format and title.
  10. Who was the Swedish astronomer, born in Uppsala, Sweden on 27 November 1701, and what scientific scale (still in daily use), which bears his name, did he devise in 1742?

Well, that’s about it for a couple more months. I hope the weather is kind and you can get out and enjoy the reds and golds of autumn and not stick penny bangers in the cow pats, like we used to (nearly 60 years ago, when there were still cattle grazing in Bushy Park). It’ll be nearly Christmas when the next Drinker comes out. Maybe I’ll be able to spend it with family this year. Until next time . . .

Andy Pirson

Solutions from August/September edition Number puzzles:

  1. 105 Pounds Sterling is One Hundred Guineas
  2. 20 in Hexadecimal is Thirty-Two in Decimal
  3. 3 Nobles (Archaic Coin) to the Pound
  4. 16 Islands of the Shetlands are Inhabited
  5. 75 Points for Three Darts in the Outer
  6. 25 Pounds is a Pony
  7. 6 Horses Pull the Diamond Jubilee State Coach
  8. 20 Wheels on the Flying Scotsman and its Tender
  9. 15 Full Back in Rugby Union
  10. 3 Seaxes (and a Crown) on the Middlesex Coat of Arms (I would accept scimitars, even though they aren’t)

5BY4:

London Brewers

  1. Earth Ale – Wood Green E
  2. Dog’s Grandad – Brixton J
  3. Signal – Walthamstow H
  4. Bullfinch – Herne Hill A
  5. Partizan – Bermondsey F
  6. Concrete Island – North Kensington D
  7. Werewolf – Kentish Town I
  8. Moncada – Dollis Hill G
  9. Jawbone – Strawberry Hill B
  10. One Mile End – Tottenham C

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE:

  1. The new London Bridge, opened on 1 August 1831, was designed by John Rennie.
  2. The famous landscape gardener and architect, born on 3 August 1801, is Joseph Paxton. He is most famous for the Crystal Palace.
  3. The ‘Show Me State’, which became the 24th of the Union on 10 August 1821, is Missouri.
  4. The British, European and World Middleweight boxing champion born on 17 August 1951 in Penge was Alan Minter.
  5. The world famous painting stolen from the Louvre on 21 August 1911, by waiter Vincenzo Peruggia, was Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.
  6. The country which discontinued its use of the title ‘United Arab Republic’ on 2 September 1971 and reverted to its original name is Egypt.
  7. The president of the USA who was shot on 6 September 1901 (and died eight days later) was William McKinley. He was succeeded by Theodore Roosevelt.
  8. The former leader of the Soviet Union who died on 11September 1971, at the age of 77, was Nikita Khrushchev.
  9. The author of ‘Last of the Mohicans’, who died on 14 September 1851, was James Fenimore Cooper.
  10. Robert Muldoon, born on 25 September 1921, was Prime Minister of New Zealand.